The Price to Pay
by artninja97
Summary: As the chosen king he must pay a hefty price for his destiny, that much is certain. But he is not the only chosen one in the world. Lightning is left in Eos with the option to aid Prince Noctis in his battle against Niflheim, a journey that soon escalates into something much more serious. And in a world that is familiar but not hers, what can she do? (LightxNoct)
1. Preview

Now she was standing in a meadow of blue flowers, the sky a pale grey and a gentle breeze ticking her skin. The lack of color and abundance of white should have seemed ominous and yet there was a calmness about that made her feel relaxed. Where was this place? Lightning had never seen it before and nothing about it felt familiar.

What was familiar was a presence, one that she couldn't see but did not feel threatened by. This presence was only slightly recognizable, although she couldn't place exactly where she had felt it before. She had guessed that whoever this was had to be an ally if the meadow felt so peaceful, so why would she be brought to this place?

"I apologize for my sudden involvement, I'm sure this feels very uncertain to you." The soft feminine voice with a cadence that Lightning couldn't mistake. The grace and serenity held in it could only belong to one person. Lightning turned around and there was Luna, motionless in her long white dress with her blonde hair styled as usual, as if she had never passed. Now that she knew a little more about Luna and the abilities she had as the Oracle it wasn't too surprising that Lightning saw her again. Exactly how Luna's spirit could have survived this long was questionable, and if it took some sort of potent power for her to remain here then why would she waste it seeing her, someone that was practically a stranger?

Lightning had to take a moment to steady her mind. She had never met or spoken to Luna face to face, but based on the stories she's heard and what she had witnessed of her from a distance Luna seemed like someone who deserved her respect. "It's no trouble. I'm used to uncertainty by now.

Luna offered a slight smile, a subtle lifting of the corner of her lips. "I'm relieved this isn't too jarring then."

The Oracle was silent after that. Her mind was clearly occupied by, as far as Lightning could tell, a deep sadness. She tried to bring Luna back to the scene without rushing her. "So… did you bring me here?"

Luna nodded. "I have a task… no, I have much to explain to you."

"Explain?"

"I owe it to you. You've selflessly aided the king since your arrival. It's been a burden on you, and I am the one who placed it upon your shoulders."

Ever since she came to Eos Lightning has had no idea of what her purpose was or when it would be fulfilled. Knowing that Luna was the cause of her unexpected traveling brought a bit of ease to her mind, realizing that Luna wouldn't bring her here for any other reason other than to help. But if there was anything other than help that came with the Oracle it was grief. Lightning felt that she should choose her words carefully in case her actions carried a tragic tale behind them. Looking back on everything she had learned about Luna it appeared that there always was. "Why would you bring me here?"

Luna looked down, the sadness Lightning had seen before overcame her features. With a sigh she returned her gaze to the woman in front of her, wiping away the sadness with a hopeful twitch of a grin. "Because… you may be able to save Noctis."

 **A preview of my next story!**

 **This one follows FFXV's story but with some changes here and there. This story will also be listed as a FFXIII and FFXV crossove, the title will instead be "Price to Pay" since fanfiction won't let me put it in two categories or let me have two stories with the same name...**

(And does anyone know if can can make FF Versus XIII into FFXV because it's the same thing just the old title...:/)

 **See you all soon and happy new year! :)**


	2. Chapter 1: Insomnia Falls

_Your time has come,_

 _Yet the task has shifted._

 _For now, travel far._

 _And guide the Light._

 _The Oracle sends you,_

 _But the final decision is your own._

The voiceless words echoed, no body or being attached to its heavenly authority. These words were her clues but who they were from was no more than a mystery. As was the light that it spoke of.

A new voice joined, this time it clearly belonged to a woman's, one that rang with an accent as well as grace. _"I beg of you… stand by the Chosen King. You can help him ascend, to defeat he darkness… and his destiny."_

Lightning woke up with a throbbing head, a dry throat and blurry vision, totally unaware of what had caused such sudden sensations. The last thing she remembered was going to bed after seeing Serah and Snow off for their honeymoon, their wedding taking place just shy of a year after Cocoon's fall.

Now, sitting fully dressed in her Guardian Corps uniform on dirty pavement drowned in rubble and ash, it was clear that whatever those voices were took her far from where she was last night. She shook her head of the pain and stood, her vision clearing as she gained her balance. With her eyes cleared she saw what surrounded her and her breathing paused.

This was a city, one larger than any other she'd ever seen. Buildings stood tall and the borders seemed nonexistent. With these enormous and monumental structures was not wonder or power—they were destroyed, blown to bits and burned by raging fires, abandoned by those who lived in them before.

Hearing voices in the distance Lightning wandered through the empty street and into a wider highway. It was here that hundreds upon hundreds of people were trudging through the ruins, looking for survivors, searching for food and medicine, and appearing hopeless and shocked from whatever created such a disaster. She couldn't help but recall the horrors that struck her own people with the Purge, watching as so many cowered in fear of the unknown and the terrifying soldiers around them. Only some of those people were willing to fight back. These were defeated and alone, abandoned by whatever wrought the havoc on this city.

Walking through the crowd she felt horribly out of place, this land clearly not at all like her own. She listened to the bits and pieces of conversation as she passed, picking up phrases concerning a peace treaty and some sort of crystal. Others were cries of despair and questions about how such a tragedy could come to pass.

Along the way a book caught her eye, its position among a pile of glass making it quite the sore thumb. Lightning felt the book's placement was no coincidence, picking it up and reading the title. _Cosmogony_ was its name, containing what looked like the history of this place. She skimmed some of the contents, feeling like there was too much for her to digest at once. The last chapter was titled _Overview, Translated to Common Language,_ deeming it the best place for her to look.

 _Eos, the land we call home, once lived in boundless peace as the great nation of Solheim, sharing the land with the Six: Titan, the Archaean, steadfast as stone. Ramuh, the Fulgurian, sharp as lightning. Shiva, the Glacian, gentle as snow. Leviathan, the Hydraean, relentless as tides. Bahamut, the Draconian, unbending as iron. Ifrit, the Infernian, fickle as fire._

 _This era of prosperity ended when the Infernian betrayed the Six, bringing a deadly plague to the land as daemons mercilessly slaughtered those left in the darkness. The Great War of Old raged as Solheim met its end._

 _The gods chose two beings to guide humanity to survival. One was the Oracle, a woman of the Nox Fleuret family blessed by the Draconian with the ability to commune with the gods. The other was a man of the Lucis Caelum family, whom was entrusted with two gifts of immense power: the Crystal and the Ring of the Lucii. This King and the Oracle brought humanity out of the ruins, and from these ashes rose the countries we live in today: the kingdom of Lucis, Tenebrae (under the rule of the Oracle), an alliance of commercial free cities forming Accordo, and the empire of Niflheim._

 _Ever since there has been a prophecy regarding the endless night that is destined to come. When this time arises the Crystal shall bring forth the chosen king of the Lucis Caelum line to banish the darkness for an eternity._

There were a few notes at the end but this was the basic history of Eos, proving that this definitely was not her home anymore. None of this was familiar to her, aside from the name Bahamut. The Oracle and chosen king, however were mentioned upon her arrival, meaning she had some sort of connection to this.

Feeling more confused Lightning moved onward, leaving the crowd behind. As she approached a great wall the sound of a radio made its way to her ears, filling in the modern pieces that the book was missing.

"The war that Niflheim has raged brought all other countries under its control, leaving Lucis the only place that was not one of the imperial provinces. For years they've fought against Lucis, the only barrier between the Crown City of Insomnia and the imperial forces being the wall created with the Crystal's power, upheld by King Regis for the past thirty years.

"What seemed like a peaceful end to this bloody war has brought nothing but tragedy to the Lucian continent. The peace treaty, declaring that all of Lucis's territories outside of Insomnia would be surrendered to Niflheim and that Prince Noctis was to marry the Oracle Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, was never signed as tempers flared inside the Citadel. Before long blasts littered the skies and anything neighboring the Citadel was destroyed. As the dust settled the Crystal was nowhere to be seen and King Regis was found dead, along with the Kingsglaive and the Crownsguard, save for a few members, including Cor the Immortal.

"Recently it has been announced that Prince Noctis and Lady Lunafreya were also pronounced dead after the attack, leaving Lucis with no ruler and Lunafreya's brother Ravus, now the high commander of the imperial army, as the last of the Oracle line. According to Niflheim authorities they will be sending Lord Ravus to uphold peace inside of the Insomnian walls, however he has evaded media attention since he was injured in the invasion.

"There is still too much we don't know but we will keep the public updated on anything we find."

The reporter's voice ended, leaving as many questions as it answered. From what she could assume Lucis would be home to this Lucis Caelum family, which means this "chosen king" should be where she should start looking for answers. If he was still alive, that is, seeing that the royal family had suffered through this invasion. It was also apparent that this Niflheim empire was the antagonist in this story, since they destroyed so much and left so little for the people that were devastated by the war.

She stand corrected as ominous airships flew overhead, some of them bigger than any airship she had even seen. The crowd sounded screams and worried mutters and a military unit made its way into the streets, each soldier stiff and precise in every movement they made. Something was… off about them though, something inhuman. "Magitechs… so that's what they look like?" she heard one man say.

None of them spoke, making the generals leading them stand out as they began directing civilians. The Purge was what she saw, the experience still too fresh in her mind to feel any different. With that it was confirmed that these guys were bad news, which meant it was time to get as far away as possible.

"Dammit," She mumbled, the heat of the desert starting to get to her. It was a long walk out of Insomnia, especially when avoiding any "magitechs," if she remembered correctly. There were plenty of refugees leaving the city, however their destination was known. Lightning wasn't at all sure of where to go next or who she should find first. After a while a building came into view, the tall sign reading "Hammerhead." It looked like the only safe place for miles and Lightning took the opportunity to catch her breath and think for a moment.

So far it had been very empty compared to Insomnia, but this gas station proved that whatever wall was guarding the city cut off the rest of the continent. It was run down, had older technology and home to only retro-looking cars. Even the locals spoke with a different accent than the citizens she heard in the city. And so far nothing sounded like the second voice she heard when she awoke.

A nearby truck displaying various weapons hosted a conversation between two men that caught her attention. "Did you hear? The Immortal was here earlier today."

"Cor the Immortal?" The other man said. "What would he be doing here? Especially after the fall of the crown city?"

"Dunno. But he's supposedly heading for the hunter base at the Prairie outpost just north of here. Wonder what he's doing…"

"Yeah. And what would be important enough that he'd leave this close to sunset? Daemons will be out soon."

Cor the Immortal. She heard that name in the broadcast back in Insomnia. He must have served the king and, if the locals' commentary was much to go by, was a legend in the area. If there was any other options Lightning would consider them but this was her only lead. And if she wanted to know what was going on, and eventually go back home, she'd have to find this chosen king.

The nearing sunset was bothering her as she departed. She had spotted beasts along the way but according to those men they weren't daemons. Whatever daemons were she would rather not find out until she had more knowledge concerning her situation.

She left the gas station, seeing a blonde woman wave at a black car as it pulled into the parking lot. The vehicle was far more luxurious, most likely from the Crown City. It made her curious but not enough to stick around and watch the four passengers exited the car and continue with their own business. With haste she followed the dirt paths that lead north, hoping this Cor the Immortal was the way to go.

The Prairie outpost was nothing short of unimpressive, composed of a few shacks and small shops. Most of the locals looked the same as the ones she saw back at Hammerhead, aside from a short-haired woman that resided in one of the bigger shacks. At this point the sun was low on the horizon and the sky was dyed a deep orange. Night was drawing near and, if it was as dangerous as it sounded, Cor the Immortal should be around somewhere.

She drew near the shack with the woman and remained outside of its thin walls and out of sight as she spoke with a man that had approached her.

"Dustin, have you seen the Marshal yet?"

"Not yet, I'm afraid."

There was a pause between them before the woman sighed, "He may be capable of handling himself but taking on daemons alone is still dangerous."

"Indeed. His business lies in Keycatrich and he is determined to ensure that the area isn't swarming with Nifs before His Highness arrives."

 _Bingo_ , Lightning thought. So this prince was alive, making him the next place for her to go.

The woman agreed, "I understand that, but it is still dangerous. And I hope His Highness will be indoors for the night instead of pursuing the marshal after sunset."

Dustin chuckled, "Don't worry so much, Monica. You know Ignis wouldn't allow that. I'll keep an eye on the northern gate for the Marshal. If he takes too long then we'll assume that he's in danger."

Lightning pushed off of the wall, believing she needed to find Cor soon. She hesitated to wander out into the night but if he was hard to keep track of she may lose him faster than his subordinates did. The dirt paths took her to a rusty wire fence that stood among dilapidated machinery and what used to be brick buildings that were now just piles of dust and rocks. These were clearly old, possibly inhabiting their spaces for centuries. So why leave them all behind? Why not take them down or make something else out of them.

The fence donned a warning sign that demanded travelers stay away. It didn't do much to deter Lightning, although it did make her reconsider her decision to travel at night when the infamous daemons would show themselves. After passing the fence and hurrying her way through the small mountain borders—the sun was almost completely gone by now—the distinct sound of gunfire and clanging metal reached her ears. There was no mistaking what lie ahead of her, now the question was whether or not she should continue onward or return to safety.

 _The faster I figure this out the faster I can go home,_ Lightning thought, hoping this mentality wouldn't devastate whatever progress she could make. She reached a clearing that was home to more ruins and useless machines, however beyond some of them there were ones that were fully functional and attacking their target: a lone man with a sword. She had guessed this must have been the marshal that she heard about based on how weak the man made these giant weapons look. With a few swipes and spells each one was down, just as the sun was setting.

And that was when the real threat came.

Clouds of black smog rose from the ground in seemingly random places. The Marshal scanned the area around him, his expression showing his annoyance with how this battle turned out. These clouds soon morphed into what looked like inky portals, with creatures clawing from their depths to drag themselves out of the dark abyss they came from. And climb out these creatures did, manifesting in the form of giants made of stone and giant spiders with women's torsos for heads, globs of magical putty not unlike ones she had seen before, all of them looking like they had walked straight out of the lowest pits of Hell. If their size wasn't enough to petrify their prey, their sheer ferocity that created their dark aura was.

The Marshal appeared more annoyed than fearful, making it clear to Lightning that this wasn't out of the ordinary. Although she was hesitant to join in on such a daunting battle with unfamiliar foes she figured she would have to face them sooner or later. Better to have an ally than to fight alone.

Once she made her way to the battlefield she dealt a well-aimed shot to one of the spiders, knocking them off of their oddly shaped legs. The Marshal noticed the blow and nodded at her when she stood beside him. "Nice shot," he said simply, more as a substitute "thank you" than a compliment.

Lightning answered just as casually, "You look like you could use a hand."

The Marshal chuckled, dry of any humor. "I won't ask for your help, but I won't stop you from lending it. If you think you can handle it."

Lightning gave a small smirk in return. "I can say I've handled worse."

Most would have seen her remark as cocky, but Cor looked as if he believed her. "Then let's see if you can prove that."

The spiders and the flans fell soon, the giants were what stood in their way. Lightning had proven herself to Cor by now, but the longer the fight went the more frustrated he appeared to get. If someone as experienced as him was losing his composure then their situation wasn't good. As this realization came to her one of the giants threw down it's colossal sword down on them, an action that they both dodged. The impact was far too strong for the ground to bear, breaking into boulders and debris that flew toward the smaller humans nearby.

Lightning acted on instinct, as she normally did in tough fights, only this time the results were unexpected. She rose her left hand as the rocks hurdled towards her, and to her surprise they seemed to bounce away before their dust could graze her skin. After stepping back she realized a spell was casted on her, Protect to be exact. She looked over to Cor to see if the spell was his doing only to find that he was too busy with his own safety. Lightning noticed her hand glowing briefly before it faded away, the barrier following suit.

 _Magic…_ She thought. The magic that the Fal'cie had given her and her friends faded when they woke from their crystal state, and this was the first she had seen it since. Of course now was not the time to ask questions.

"This just got a lot easier," she said to herself, casting the strongest Blizzard spell she could, freezing the giants in place.

This time Cor took notice of the magic, and not in the way Lightning expected. He stared at her as if she had just morphed her arms into turrets to take down the giants, which made Lightning feel she had lost what little trust he had in her for some reason. They both put the odd moment aside for the time being and took advantage of the frozen state that the giants were trapped in and attacked, shattering their brittle bodies to pieces in minutes.

It was quiet, for now. Lightning wondered just how long things would stay safe. Judging by Cor's reaction it was either safer than she thought or her magic was a bigger deal than she could have ever anticipated.

"You casted magic," the Marshal pointed out, disbelief donning his features.

"I did, And?" Lightning asked, trying to sound like it was nothing.

"You aren't part of the Kingsglaive, or the Crownsguard for that matter. I would have recognized you. So how did you do it?" Disbelief had faded into suspicion as he spoke. Lightning wasn't sure how to respond, having no idea what he meant by "Kingsglaive," or why magic was restricted to whatever that was.

After Lightning didn't answer Cor continued his questioning. "If you're not Kingsglaive then who are you? And Why are you here?"

Lightning, at this point, was already tired of not knowing what was going on or how to handle the situation she was now stuck in. She sighed, then responded begrudgingly, "I don't know what Kingsglaive or Crownsguard is, or why magic is a part of them. And I can't really say why I'm here either. That's what I was hoping you could tell me."

The disbelief returned. "You don't know Kingsglaive _or_ Crownsguard? If you aren't from Lucis then you wouldn't be here right now."

"No, I'm not from here."

"Then where?"

Lightning sighed, growing more and more annoyed. "It's hard to explain. The only thing I can say is that I'm supposed to find this… Chosen King."

Those last two words thickened the air, inviting hostility into Cor's demeanor. "You're not from Lucis and you're looking for His Highness," he stated, clearly displaying that people in her position would be a threat.

The best thing to do now was to hopefully diffuse whatever could spur from this moment before she lost her only lead. She hoped more details would do this instead of instigate anything else. "Yes, but not by choice. I was sent by an… Oracle, I think." She planned to say more but the word "oracle" took care of any doubt he had.

"I see," he said, completely calm and all suspicious vanished, much to Lightning's confusion.

"Then you must also see that I don't understand what's going on, or what this Oracle is."

Cor nodded, "I'm not sure why or how, but yes, I can sense that. If you claim the Oracle has brought you here then I will hear you out. And if you prove her involvement then I might trust you to do what you were supposedly sent to do."

Why the Oracle made everything good was lost on Lightning, but if it was all he needed to listen to her then she would take it. "It's a long story."

"We need to get back to the outpost first. The more time we spend out here the more we risk encountering daemons. So long as it's dark they'll keep coming. After that you can start talking."

 **PLEASE READ**

 **I started writing this way back in January and had to put it down for months…**

 **Unlike any past fics I've written I feel like this one is a lot more plausible and incorporates more of the real story than things that I wanted to happen or wanted to change. It makes me really want to finish this one, but writing longer chapters is going to be a struggle. So, in order to finish this I'll need to write more chapters that are shorter. Usually each chapter ranges around 3k to 5k words, or longer in some cases. I'll probably write chapters closer to 1k or 2k (with the exception of this chapter) while still keeping most of the details so the story structure is sound. Fighting and actions scenes will suffer in some places but since this is based on a video game, having unscripted combat that's left up to the viewer isn't unfamiliar, so I'm okay with giving some of that up. That way I can give a little at a time instead of nothing at all.**

 **Also… question.**

 **This will closely follow FFXV's plot with the addition of Light, obviously. But most of the events and scenes will be very similar to the game. So… how much of the game would you want me to include? This is Noctis-centric, mostly from Light's view, but should I write parts that she is not directly involved in? I.e. When Noct chases Ardyn on the train should I write this moment in or only write about Light's part in it?**

 **I would be willing to add in parts from the game but if most of us have played it it may feel like a bunch of fillers. So if you guys want it or would rather leave it out just let me know :)**


	3. Chapter 2: The First Tomb

**Been a while… I talk about why at the end in case you're interested.**

 **I have to ask…is Lightis a dead ship? I haven't seen it much since the game came out. I still like them but because I've been busy for a while I'm hesitant to put so much time into a fic that maybe no one will like or care about. If you're still sailing with Lightis let me know so I don't feel alone XD**

 **And from here on you will see numbers that look like this (1). Because I think one of FFXV's best features is its amazing soundtrack I'm going to add some tracks at points where I feel like they fit the scene, so you all can get a good grip on the scene (Not every scene will have a song associated with it). The track that I'm associating that scene with will be listed at the end of the fic.**

 **Okay, chapter start NOW!**

Lightning and Cor walked along the dirt road just as daylight breached over the horizon, keeping the daemons at bay and giving them enough peace and serenity to address their mutual questions. The clouds overhead blocked out the sun and let down a light shower that filled the desert with the smell of fresh vegetation and watered soil. The beauty of the light storm did nothing to relax the two soldiers, both of them still on guard for the time being. Cor began with his own queries, which Lightning allowed. It only made sense, she was the stranger after all.

The first thing she cleared up for him was who she was, giving him a brief summary of her own experience with godlike beings and her triumph over them.

"So I take it that's the reason you use magic?" He questioned, sounding like he already knew the answer.

"That's where it came from," Lightning confirmed, "I'm guessing it's still around thanks to the Oracle." It felt odd to mention the Oracle when she still hadn't a clue what that meant.

"Understandable, the Oracle does have connections with the gods. If anyone can restore your abilities it's her. And considering your surprise when you used your magic I believe that you were just as unaware of its return as I was," Cor stated nonchalantly. Lightning believed that meant that was satisfactory proof behind her story.

Lightning, wanting this detail explained, asked, "Why is magic so surprising?"

"It's…complicated compared to your side." Cor paused for a moment, most likely to gather his thoughts and decide which information was the most important. "Magic comes from the Crystal, which resided in the Crown City of Insomnia until recently. To use this magic you would have to be a descendent of the royal bloodline it was granted to by the gods, or possess a specific tool. There are a select few who can learn to use the magic by working with a member of the royal family. And I would have known if you were one of these special people."

"And what about the special tool?" Lightning noticed how he skimmed over that part.

Cor shook his head. "A weapon of great power disguised as an old relic: the Ring of the Lucii. Only the royal family can wear it, and wearing it allows direct access to the Crystal's power. It's what the empire's been after for decades."

This empire didn't remind Lightning of the goons leading PSICOM or the men and fal'cie up in Eden that secretly carried out their own goals while maintaining their society. Niflheim just sounded like a nation that was ruled by a power hungry emperor, one that didn't care for anything but his own endeavors. She wondered how the common people lived there, if there were any left. "I take it that's what got Insomnia invaded?"

"That's why the empire invaded, but the timing was the King's decision," Cor stated solemnly.

Intrigued, Lightning said, "What do you mean?"

Cor began without hesitation, as if he had explained this before, even if it was just to himself. "The Crystal and the ring are capable of incredible power, but what Niflheim fails to acknowledge is that it isn't free.

"The ring is very picky, said to bear the souls of the past kings of Lucis. If the ring is worn by anyone they don't approve of, they're harmed by it. The former prince of Tenebrae lost his arm to it not long ago."

"So even if the emperor got the ring, he can't use it?" Lightning intervened.

"Exactly, there's no way the past kings would allow it." Cor glanced down at his feet for a few seconds, watching the dirt and rocks shift as his shoes stepped on them. "However, even those who are approved don't get a free ride. The power of the Crystal comes at a price. If too much is used at once, or even over time, it harms to user, wearing them out and destroying their ability to live."

 _Doesn't sound like it's even worth using then,_ Lightning thought. "So then why use it?"  
"The King had to," Cor answered simply. "Niflheim uses Magitechs, machines infused with…some kind of magic or something, it's hard to say. There's hardly any humans among their army."

"So they had an endless army, all against one city," Lightning concluded for him.

"Yes. To fend them off King Regis wore the ring constantly, using it to generate a shield around the city that nothing could breach." Cor took a moment to think again. "This shield was up for thirty years, cutting the city off from the rest of the world, which it looks so different than Insomnia."

 _That explains the sudden shift in scenery,_ Lightning said to herself.

"His Majesty was fifty, but he looked at least two decades older. He had to walk with a cane and was constantly putting energy into the shield. The ring took a lot of years away from him, he couldn't keep the shield up forever.

"Then the empire proposed a peace treaty, agreeing to leave the Crystal to the Crown City in exchange for all territories outside of it to be surrendered to Nifleheim, and the prince and the Oracle were to be wed. They knew each other when they were children, before Tenebrae was taken, so the idea was logical for both parties from a political and personal standpoint."

"And the king really believed that?" So far the king hadn't made a wrong decision yet, wouldn't had made sense for him to start now.

"Of course not," Cor scoffed, almost as if he was insulted. "But his options were limited. Niflheim had an endless army, Lucis had one man protecting their only city. It was either accept the treaty, allow them entrance to Insomnia, and prepare for the invasion ahead of time, or…"

"Wait for the inevitable." It was unfair from Lightning's perspective, that such a powerful city had only one man to keep it safe. And at his own expense.

"Exactly. He allowed the invasion so he could ensure that his son would be far away when it happened. That way he could pursue his duty as Chosen King, predestined to banish the darkness."

"The darkness? Descriptive," Lightning criticized cynically, not realizing that it may have sounded ignorant until it was already out.

"That's where the Oracle comes in," Cor said, relieving her worries. "She gives him all the tools necessary until the end goal becomes clear. King Regis made sure they would have the opportunity to do this." The slight sadness returned.

"Sounds like the king was important to you," Lightning pointed out, hoping it wouldn't push any buttons.

Cor sighed. "He was an old friend of mine, and I vowed to protect him as both king and friend. Now all that's left is to keep his son moving now that the responsibility falls to him."

For such a personal matter Cor kept his emotions hidden rather well, even Lightning had a harder time seeing just how deeply he felt. "And can his son do it?" Lightning asked, wondering if she was here to protect or babysit.

"He's very capable…he just can't do it alone." Cor looked over at her to show his opinion was genuine. "He's avoided the public's eye over the years, so much so that most people don't recognize him just by looking at him. His lineage and destiny weren't easy to take up as a child. But he can defend himself, he's a good leader, and he has a good heart. This isn't something that he would walk away from, his sense of duty will see to that."

By now they arrived at the outpost, stopping in an empty tent as the continued their conversation. Cor sighed again, this time with a hint of exasperation. "But… the king made sure His Highness believed he was going to Altissia for the wedding, meaning the invasion was news to him. This is all still a shock, I'm sure. And…he's only twenty, there's still much for him to learn, and now isn't the ideal time to learn it."

 _Only twenty…_ Lightning remembered that age, when she was just a soldier taking care of her sister. She didn't know it but she had a lot to learn too, had no doubt in refusing to learn it at first. Even a year after that she missed so much. It took nearly losing her only family left to figure things out. "It's just him and the Oracle doing this?" Lightning asked, hoping they were better off than she was.

"The Oracle is most likely traveling alone, the only others she's ever worked or lived with are either in Tenebrae of part of the empire. Considering she's been pronounced dead I'd say she doesn't have much on her side. As for Prince Noctis, he has three crownsguard with him, they're good friends of his. Even so, he needs all the help he can get," Cor said, nodding at her.

With that point made the explaining was over and it was time to move on. The air shifted a bit when Cor said, "Speaking of them, it's about time I contacted them and gave them their first task. If you'll excuse me for a moment."

Lightning agreed to wait while he pulled out his phone. She did try to eavesdrop, wondering how this call would go. From the short distance she could faintly hear Cor's voice. The first thing she heard Cor say was, "So you made it? Where are you? ...Makes sense."

There was a long pause. He continued, "Listen, I'm heading out to Hammerhead. About the king…it's true." Lightning shook her head with her eyes closed. If she had heard that her sister had been killed while Cocoon was falling out of the sky…she didn't even know what she would do. "If you're looking for the whole truth, you know where to find me. Get moving." He hung up and returned to the tent.

"You said Hammerhead?" If Lightning recalled correctly that was a gas station that she passed a while ago.

"I was there earlier, but they should stop there and make any last minute preparations. One of them will be sure that they're ready." Cor's brow was furrowed, making him appear frustrated.

"Other than that…how did it go?" Lightning asked, hoping to get things moving forward.

Cor's brow relaxed. Her concern seemed to reassure that she was on their side. "He's…distraught. Tried to go back to Insomnia only to find it littered with Magitechs." His gaze was steeled and he took on a tone of authority. "I've got something to show him before they are ready to head out. I think we should save your introduction until after that. I'm not sure how he will react once he arrives."

Lightning nodded wordlessly. Cor needed nothing else and turned to leave the outpost. Now the only thing to do was to wait.

It didn't take long for the prince to arrive even with Cor's poor directions. The sleek black car was certainly what tipped her off that it was them, it definitely wasn't the same kind of rugged and run down vehicle that were the latest fashion in these parts. Lightning had moved farther from the tents and sat on some rocks that were on the edge of the outpost, thinking an unfamiliar face wouldn't be a welcome sight after Cor's decision. They parked a ways away from her but she could get a good look at them as they walked to the tents.

…None of them struck her as a prince. They all appeared fairly normal for the most part, in both features and persona. Lightning tried to figure it out with a process of elimination, immediately dismissing the big and nearly shirtless one. The one with glasses could work, and the blond one was different enough from the others. There was one more that seemed fairly balanced compared to the rest, but he didn't stand out either. She was beginning to think it wasn't them and their presence was just a coincidence. But after the head out the same way Cor had after a few minutes there was no denying they were the right group.

The lack of distinction, aside from the car and complete sets of black gear, made Lightning curious. She thought it would be wrong to follow after Cor had commanded that she stay back and yet she found herself staying a safe distance behind them, wondering which one was "chosen."

They didn't notice her and quietly continued to another oddity, what appeared to be a treasury or a tomb of some sorts. The doors must have been open because they didn't pause when they reached it. Lightning swiftly ducked behind the front walls next to the door, listening to the reunion.

One of the newcomers spoke first, his accent adding another bullet to the list of things that were out of place. "Marshal," he greeted. Lightning guessed it was the one with glasses, mostly because of stereotypes but she wasn't going to reprimand herself now.

Cor answered with his coarse tone. "At last, Your Highness."

A new voice rang, not one she expected. "Yeah, wanna tell me what I'm here for?" She couldn't place that one, maybe she could if she had gotten a closer look at these guys. Obviously this voice belonged to the prince, shocking Lightning with the way that he spoke to Cor.

Cor got right to the point, as usual. "The power of kings, passed from the old to the new through the bonding of souls. One such soul lies before you. To claim your forebears' power is your birthright and duty as king." Cor spoke almost whimsically as he presented whatever was in there to them, not so much that it was out of character as far as Lightning could tell.

"My duty as king of what?"

Lightning sneered at the prince's reply. The dread of babysitting clawed into Lightning's head. He may be young but he was still an adult, so why the backtalk?

"Now is not the time to question your calling," Cor scolded rightfully. "A king is sworn to protect his people."

"And yet he chose to protect only one prince. Was that his calling? Forsake the masses to spare his own son?" Again Lightning felt a groan rising from her lungs. He was angry? Because his father did so much to save him?

"How long will you remain protected?" Cor snapped, sharing Lightning's disdain for his attitude. Lightning found the use of the word "protected" fitting. If this guys was too sheltered to see what was being sacrificed for his survival then he needed a lecture. "The king entrusted the role of protector to you," Cor irately growled. He surely didn't care for the dismissal of his king's actions.

It was the prince's turn to raise his voice. "'Entrusted' it to me? Then why didn't he tell _me_ that?" His words spilled into her ears before Lightning could even process them. "Why did he stand there smiling as I left? Why…!"

Silence. Just for a few moments. And then a whisper. "Why did he lie to me?"

Those six words made Lightning's stomach curl with guilt. She was so quick to judge his words with her own interpretations of them. There was no thoughts towards what was behind them, or the emotions that formulated them. Lightning sighed at herself. She knew better by now that she can't be this way with people, can't let her paranoia convince her to assume the worst out of people.

Cor gave the prince a few moments to catch his breath. "That day, he didn't want you to remember him as the king. In what time you had left, he wanted to be your father. He always had faith in you, that when the time came, you would ascend for the sake of your people."

The last of his words faded as Lightning chose to walk away and let them finish without her prying ears. Now she saw why Cor wanted her to wait for this conversation to pass. She knew she would have been disgusted with his responses and, she was sure his questions wouldn't have come out if she was there. What he would have let out in her presence would have tainted her opinion of him, and she wouldn't help him if she didn't like him.

If Lightning was this prince, and Serah was the king, Lightning knew she would react hellishly compared to the way he did. She told herself to keep that in mind and be patient, if she had to help this kid then it would be better to do it genuinely. Part of her felt like she could be more supportive than even she would expect, given her own hardships from the recent past.

She made her way back to the outpost and was called out to by a young woman, Monica, if Lightning recalled correctly. Cor had apparently sent word for her to head north to some place called Keycatrich Trench, where Cor would be taking the prince after they were done. Once they met up it would be time for introductions.

Unfortunately for her, the empire had sent troops—or robots, to be exact—to this trench, and she wouldn't be able to get there with them in the way.

It was a challenge, but nothing Lightning couldn't handle. Unbeknownst to her, Cor required far less time than she expected and the five men entered the clearing just as she was placing her gunblade back into its sheath at her back. She hoped Cor had briefed them on her sudden involvement so she wouldn't have to. It was hard to say how much they would buy her story if it wasn't endorsed by someone they trusted.

"Lightning, looks like you've kept busy," Cor complimented, seeing the destroyed technology behind her.

"Somewhat," Lightning crossed her arms with the uninterested answer.

From behind Cor the guys were talking, only Lightning couldn't hear that the blond one said she'd have to be pretty badass to take those down on her own.

"Thanks for saving us the trouble," Cor turned and gestured to the four people that she had seen before. And she still felt like none of them looked like royalty. "This is the team I've told you about. Men, this is Lightning, the one that the Oracle sent." Lightning silently sent gratitude to Cor for saving her from trying to tell that part on her own. Cor gestured to each of them as he introduced, "Lightning, this is Gladiolus, Ignis, Prompto, and Prince Noctis."

 _So_ that one _is the prince? Could have fooled me._ The most average looking one had an elite lineage, yet as far as she could see he was just another guy. She took that as a good sign.

Gladiolus addressed her first, "Welcome to the squad," he said. If Lightning wasn't good at reading people she would think he was relaxed, but there was a hint of mistrust in his eyes. A healthy amount though, enough to make him smart, not blind.

Ignis gave her a small nod in acknowledgement, "Greetings, we're thankful that you've agreed to join us." Calm and composed, the brains of the operation. He, too, was suspicious of her underneath the surface.

Then there was Prompto, who was not nearly as collected as the other two. He must have been shy, intimidated, unnerved, or some combination of the three, his shaky "hiya" gave it all away. With how well the first two handled their doubts Lightning guessed they were much more experienced than he was.

Noctis was a different story. Lightning couldn't quite get a read on him or his expression. If he was deterred, oblivious, or disinterested she couldn't tell. That frustrated Lightning a bit. Luckily Noctis was able to blow some of the fog away when he said, "Thanks for giving us a hand, we really need it." She was thrown off by his blatant appreciation, largely because she hadn't done anything for them yet.

"Don't mention it," Lightning accepted his gracious words cooly.

Cor interrupted there, feeling there was no more time needed. "Here we go our separate ways." All eyes went to the marshal as he fished something out of his pocket and threw it to Noctis. "It unlocks the doors to the other tombs. Seek them out and lay claim to the power they hold. You'll need it." And ominous tone to end on, but also justified.

Noctis asked, "And what will you do?"

"Keep and eye on the Niffs. Find out what they're up to. But you should focus on your own task."

"I will, you take care." Cor bid his farewell and left. Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto's eyes went to Noct, prompting Lightning to do the same. Noctis announced, "Well, if we're ready, let's head in." Lightning noted how they looked to him because they awaited his order. He was the leader to them.

He strode to the entrance after sparing Lightning a glance, possibly checking for any objections. Ignis followed closely behind, also watching her carefully. Prompto sighed from the background, "It's been a long day guys…do we have to?"

He squealed when Gladiolus slapped him on the back to get him moving. "No time for whining, Champ. Let's go." Prompto passed Lightning, avoiding eye contact. That left just her and Gladiolus, who nodded to the trench to signal her to go ahead while he took the rear. She made no argument despite knowing he didn't yet trust her to watch their backs. _In time,_ Lightning told herself, wanting to avoid hostility.

As the sun's light shone at their back Prompto hesitantly asked, "You guys don't think the Marshal would send us in here if something bad was here, right?" No one answered. "Things in here can't be that bad, right?"

In the distance an inhuman screech rang, forcing them all to cover their ears and stop in their tracks. _**(1)**_ "Awwww come on…" Prompto whined despite Gladiolus' previous statement.

"Just keep your mouth shut before you jinx us again," Gladiolus said from behind Lightning.

Paranoia kicked in at having a stranger watch her back, a feeling that was difficult to let go of. She focused on containing her distrust and tuned out the rest of the conversation.

Prompto's next question redeemed her attention. "A cable? Wonder where it leads."

"We can follow it and see," Ignis responded, sounding more adventurous than Lightning anticipated. She thought he would be the one to warn them about where it goes. The tides were in their favor this time, giving them the way to a generator that illuminated the cave. "Then there was light," Ignis calmly celebrated.

"Oh man, I do love me some light!" Prompto agreed, straying from his earlier composure—or lack thereof.

They followed Noctis through the caverns, finding locked doors and dead ends galore. What Lightning found odd was Noctis' silence, whether it be from paying close attention or fear. She really wasn't sure how he felt about being in a dangerous, dark, and seemingly endless labyrinth while searching for some sort of weapon that would help him "banish the darkness." Whatever that meant. It would feel ridiculous to her, then again she didn't find anything ridiculous about being a L'cie on the run.

A sharp clanging came from just behind her. She braced for the worst, but nothing could ready her for Prompto's reaction. "What was that!?" He screeched foolishly. If something wasn't after them now, it could be on its way.

"My bad. Kicked a can," Gladiolus admitted frankly.

"You are killing me here, big guy!" Prompto complained. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack here or somethin'!?"

For the first time in a while their leader spoke up, saying what Lightning so desperately wanted to scold. "Prompto, relax," Noctis commanded with a touch of annoyance.

"I'm relaxed!" the blond protested.

"Then I would hate to see you frightened," Ignis patronized.

Prompto paused, probably offended by the retort. "I can feel eyes on us…" His head swiveled around on his neck. "The second we turn our backs, BAM!"

Gladiolus took a few steps ahead of Lightning to get to Prompto and give him another push. "Quit being a wuss." With that he took his place at the end of their line."

 _Prompto is the high-strung rookie. Got it,_ Lightning thought.

The occasional goblin popped in front of them, which the five of them could handle just fine. What they couldn't handle was the countless doors and paths that led nowhere, or took them around in circles. The more doors they failed to breach, the twitchier Prompto became. There was one particular door that disturbed him more than the others, for some reason. As Noctis went to try the gate's handle, the others just waiting for the cue to turn around again, Prompto stopped him. "Hey, wait."

"What?" Noctis said, not at all surprised by his friend's reluctance.

"Need to brace for this." Lightning heard Ignis chuckle and Gladiolus sigh. "On three, you open the door. Got it?" Noctis gave him the most incredulous look that a human could manage, showing the most expression since Lightning met him. "Okay. Here I go. One… Two…"

Well before Prompto was ready Noctis got tired of playing this game and pulled at the door unceremoniously, making Prompto jump. "Nope, locked, let's go," Noctis said quickly, eager to move on. Lightning almost smirked at his sarcasm and flippancy but kept a straight face.

Another dead end came, bringing more frustration out of all of them. Suddenly, the lights are gone. "The hell?" Gladiolus said, once again triggering Lightning's instincts, especially now that they were blind.

"Somebody turn on a light!" Prompto instructed unnecessarily.

Apparently each of the guys had flashlights fastened to their shirts, illuminating the caverns once again. Ignis wordlessly produced a spare from somewhere in his jacket and handed it to Lightning, who thanked him quietly. She thought having her own light source would make her feel better but something was making her skin crawl.

More daemons.

Again, little goblins ambushed them, still failing to impress Lightning. She hoped that the larger ones that Cor encountered last night were a rarity.

Another door, another tedious task. Lightning would have been irritated if she were more familiar with the setting. Finally, after what felt like hours of going from door to door, waiting for some daemon to open a previously locked door just to taunt them, they encountered a large room that they didn't recognize. "Ooh, this looks promising," Prompto said.

"In an ominous sort of way," Gladiolus warned from their backs.

"Stay sharp," Ignis advised. And his words practically invited the daemons out of their shadows. They continued forward down this new path for just a few minutes before they were attacked. And not by the wimpy goblins.

This one was much bigger, easily standing at twice their size, like the spider women that Lightning and Cor encountered the night before. The colorful back betrayed the rest of its body, which was black and white and red, claws and horns sharpened to fine points. Lightning drew her gunblade while the others brought their weapons out of thin air and crystal shards.

"No way we're taking that thing on!" Prompto protested.

"No turning back," Gladiolus reasoned in return.

The words struck a chord in Noctis. She may not have been able to read him very well but she could tell that much. "Nope," He agreed. And then the fight was on.

 _ **(2)**_ The Arachne made the first move, summoning balls of electricity and dispersing them through the room. Each fighter dodged the attack and took advantage of the small opening the Arachne left behind. Ignis went first, casting blizzard to temporarily freeze it in place. Before it could break out Lightning and Prompto each took their own shot, stunning the spider. Then it was Gladiolus' turn, delivering a jumping slash to the Arachne that was strong enough to knock it free of its icy prison and launching it backwards. Noctis was last, warping above it as Ignis tossed a spear to him, and he stabbed it straight in the underbelly.

The Arachne was tougher than anything they had fought so far. She was wounded, but not ready to go down just yet. If there was anything that made this fight different than the others was the teamwork Lightning witnessed from the guys. She was worried that two of them would carry the battles for the most part, yet all of them, even Prompto, pulled their own weight. Surprisingly enough, Noctis often called the shots, signaling for another one of them to attack so that he or someone else could follow up. His ability to coordinate was impressive, as was the amount of trust that other guys had in his quick judgements. Of course, he wasn't perfect. It was hard for her to judge his abilities when his were so foreign to her but it certainly looked flashy enough. She did notice, however, that no matter what moves he or the others did he avoided giving her any orders, which she both appreciated and was curious about.

Another notable thing was that Ignis and Gladiolus tended to keep an eye on her and often drew closer when the Arachne targeted her. Lightning was offended at first, believing they doubted that she could do her part. Over time they drifted from the habit. It made her think they were actually making sure she wouldn't get hurt, not that she was incompetent. Part of her was grateful, another was suspicious, as per usual. One more thing for her to keep under control if they were going to make this work.

As they continued assaulting the Arachne she seemed to slow down. They were close. Noctis called for Prompto to shoot the daemon as he readied to warp to it. After Prompto's gun rang, echoing through the caverns, the Arachne must of decided to take on a new method of offense. Noctis disappeared, and just as he reappeared where the Arachne was she leapt to the walls, them burst through the door to escape. The move was unexpected, mostly to Noctis, who had to clumsily get his feet back on the ground after one good swipe at the air.

Their eyes were stuck on the door that the Arachne had broken through, waiting for it to jump back out at them, but the caves were silent. Prompto spoke up first, asking, "Soooo did we win?"

Gladiolus evaporated his sword and the other guys took that as their cue that it was safe. "I wouldn't say we won…at least not yet."

"Strategic retreat, perhaps?" Ignis said.

Noctis shrugged. "I guess. If it's not coming back, we're done here."

The group ripped their cautious eyes from the door and followed Noctis, who was going the opposite direction. A few minutes later they found a distinct pair of doors that were too ornate to be a part of the rest of the machinery from the trench.

"Bingo!" Gladiolus said.

"Ugh, it's about time!" Prompto groaned.

Lightning assumed, once inside, that his tomb looked like the last one they visited since she never saw the interior. Everyone else was at ease as Noctis stepped up to the sarcophagus and raised his hand over it. She was the outlier, a great unease sitting itself in her chest. There was no way for her to know why, so she kept quiet and watched as a ghostly crystal axe manifested above the late king's grave and stabbed itself into Noctis' chest, joining the sword he had found earlier that day.

The sight of the axe lunging at him forced that unease to trickle from her chest and into the pit of her stomach. The guys took it as a step forward, but she only saw some sort of foreboding premonition. She wasn't sure why she felt like she knew something that no one else did, or even what that knowledge could be. Maybe the Oracle had something to do with it? Either way, she chose to keep it to herself rather than make herself look like she wasn't a support.

"So, Noct borrows the old kings' powers?" Prompto inquired.

"More or less," Ignis answered, of course. "At this rate, he'll soon rival his father's legacy."

"The Copycat King," Gladiolus teased with a smirk.

Noctis scowled back, "Out of line." Lightning tuned out the rest of their banter, still thrown off by that sense of dread from the ritual. Noctis must have felt that the purpose behind her silence had shifted and, as they were leaving the tomb to go back to the entrance, asked, "So, Lightning, how do you feel about joining us so far?"

Lightning almost smirked. He felt awkward about it and she was pretty sure that he knew it. He kept his cool well enough but she could tell. "Better, now that we've worked together for a while."

Prompto pitched it, "Same here. You really know what you're doing, Lightning."

"Yeah," Gladiolus said. "Cor said we wouldn't have to worry about you. Looks like I was wrong to doubt it." He nudged Prompto with his elbow. "Even said you could help us with our panicky guy over here."

"Heeeeyyy! Don't sell me out like that!"

"I'm not selling you out if it's obvious."

Noctis distracted them from their arguing, "Yeah, I have to say I'm happily impressed."

"You all aren't bad yourselves." She paused, deciding if she should bring up her reaction from earlier. He deliberately asked her something with hopes that she would get it off her chest, so maybe he should know. Then again, mistrust was easier to earn than its counterpart. "I just hope we're ready for whatever that daemon has planned for us," Lightning lied. She talked herself out of her uncertainty, anticipating that she would accept it as she spent more time here.

They must have bought her excuse. "Yes, I still wonder what happened to it as well," Ignis concurred. "It's not like a daemon to flee, even in defeat."

"I don't get it either," said Gladiolus. "Let's keep our eye out for it."

The room that the Arachne was in came and they all braced for an ambush. It didn't come.

The tension was released as they passed through the room. And that was exactly what the Arachne wanted. Noctis and Prompto exited the room first, just a few steps ahead of the others. _**(2)**_ The small distance was enough for the Arachne to charge from the corner and slam them across the cavern, hissing at the three that were left in the room. Gladiolus acted fast by swinging his massive weapon at it and knocking it against the cave wall. They took the chance to leave the room and retrieve Noctis and Prompto but a second Arachne was between them. The first Arachne recovered from the assult, blocking Gladiolus, Lightning, and Ignis in while Noctis and Prompto had access to escape.

"You guys okay?" Gladiolus called to them just before the first Arachne sprung at the three.

"Define 'okay'!" Prompto yelled back. While the three struck back at the first Arachne the second dispersed electric balls and the pair, both of which were able to dodge. But Prompto failed to notice that a third Arachne had heard the commotion and come to join the brawl from behind them and was struck by it, sending him further into the cavern and away from Noctis.

The trio were still busy fending off the first Arachne, which was relentless in its attack. With limited space to move they couldn't get away from it before the third Arachne tried for Prompto again, who must have been too injured to stand because he only screamed as the Arachne dove at him. Noctis warped to the spider in the middle of her jump, knocking her over from the force. He then warped directly to Prompto and tried fix him up with some magic.

The second Arachne was distracted by the sounds behind her and left the battle with Lightning's group and the first Arachne. Ignis didn't hesitate to follow it in an attempt to reach Noctis and Prompto first while Gladiolus and Lightning kept the first away. The second Arachne noticed Ignis following her and readied electric balls to throw at him. Noctis again warped to the Arachne before it could hit Ignis, allowing him to go around them and reach Prompto to save him from the third, which he irritated by throwing flames at it. With the second one stunned, Noctis warped back to the third so Ignis could help Prompto up after giving him another cure spell. Only this time Noctis didn't move after striking the third Arachne.

Lightning and Gladiolus had been keeping an eye on Noctis and Prompto since Ignis left and saw Noctis land on his feet and then stumble and crash down onto his hands and knees, panting heavily. The Arachne that Gladiolus and Lightning were fighting made a jump strike at Gladiolus, who blocked it with his blade. He looked behind him while the Arachne was trying to force its claws down onto him and saw that Noctis still hadn't stood up. "Dammit Noct!" Gladiolus grumbled to himself. He channeled all of his strength and hurled the Arachne off of his greatsword, driving it off to the side and into the cave wall, cracking the rocks and dirt. He and Lightning made it over to the second Arachne before it got to Noctis and Gladiolus threw that one aside as well. The third Arachne that was still near Prompto and Ignis saw the assault and moved back to avoid Gladiolus' wrath and waited for an opening. Lightning and Gladiolus had regrouped with the others, Gladiolus ripping Noctis off the floor as soon as he was within reach.

Lightning watched as Noctis trembled while he stood, looking like he had just run a marathon up a steep mountain. _What happened to him?_ Lightning thought. And then as the bits of the battle that she saw replayed in her mind, remembering the constant warping, Cor's words rang in her mind. _Even those who are approved don't get a free ride. The power of the Crystal comes at a price… It harms to user, wearing them out and destroying their ability to live._

In that moment Lightning pitied Noctis. His only means of defense, and to accomplish his end goal, was the same thing that could harm him irreparably. The same thing that had led to his father's death. She already felt that he had it worse than she did. Being a l'cie promised a cruel fate, but at least the only adversary she faced during the process was time.

Prompto was still weak from the attack and Noctis needed more time to recover, leaving only Lightning, Gladiolus and Ignis to fight the three Arachne that slowly inched toward them.

"It's time to fall back," Ignis decided with a tone that left no room for an argument.

"Yeah, but how are we getting around these with these two out of commission?" Gladiolus growled, frustrated at the problem they faced.

Ignis sighed, mirroring Gladiolus' frustration "I'm not sure…"

As Lightning looked around for an answer her eyes fell to the crack in the cave that the Arachne made when Gladiolus slammed it against the wall. She followed it to the roof, where the crack continued, bits of dirt and rocks falling from it as the Arachnes stomped toward them.

With a quick recall of their route and what this portion of the trench looked like – which she had automatically memorized as a result of years of training – she had an idea.

 _ **(3)**_ Lightning looked to the guys and said, "I know what to do. But Gladiolus, you and Ignis have to get those two closer to the entrance, around that second generator we found."

Even though she had spoken to Gladiolus, Noctis was the one to respond. "What are you going to do?" His concern was unnecessary and borderline annoying given their circumstances. It wasn't a time for questions. But one look at how tired he looked made her bite her tongue. With the daemons drawing closer she took a deep breath and said to him, "You're just going to have to trust me."

She knew she had no right to ask for their unconditional trust but Noctis nodded at her after a moment's hesitation. He trusted her.

With his cue Gladiolus went of one of the Arachne that was blocking the path to the destination that Lightning gave. "Alright, but you just got here," Gladiolus gave one more enormous swing at the spider as he said, "…so don't die on us!" The Arachne flew off of his sword and into the wall, increasing the crack that was already there and forming a new one in the wall. Ignis followed close behind Gladiolus with Noctis and Prompto in tow and rushed past the Arachne while it was still vulnerable. Lightning then fired a bullet into it so it wouldn't go after them. Now she was alone, circled by three giant daemons.

Lightning was outnumbered but she still had the advantage; if all went according to plan, she wouldn't have to lay a finger on any of them. The only downside was she had no way of speeding things up or giving the offensive maneuvers. All she could do was wait for the daemons to move and see where to go from there.

The Arachne thought she was a sitting duck and, to Lightning's annoyance, all ran to attack her at the same time. She had to think quick to get out of this one. She waited until the last second to dodge underneath one of them and ran down the cavern as they collided into each other. When she met a fork in the path she stood and waited for the Arachnes to charge at her. The fastest one just barely missed Lightning, who rolled into one of the abandoned rooms nearby. When the other two Arachnes slammed into the first one they all hit the cave wall, and Lightning took note of the sound of crunching rocks.

She repeated this process twice, when she was close to the room where they had found the second generator, where the solid walls were stabilized by more concrete rooms. If this last hit was enough—and she got away in time—they would be home free. The angered and frustrated Arachnes were at their limits with her by now and threw balls of lightning at her as she waited for them next to the last room, where she expected the guys to be waiting outside of. Dodging them was tough in the tight space, throwing her off a bit when two of them forced their way across the path to her. She stumbled but was able to catch her balance and roll into the room.

What sounded like and earthquake followed, making Lightning smirk. Before the Arachenes could continue chasing her the rocks of the trench began to fall on them as the roof collapsed. They had damaged the several weak spots in the cave that Lightning had led them to and had brought their end upon themselves. Lightning backed away, keeping her eyes on the daemons while the rocks crushed them. Contrary to her assumptions, some of the concrete ceiling wasn't as supportive as she thought. She heard it crackling above her just in time and performed a backwards handspring to get out of the way, landing on her feet right in front of the royal entourage.

The cave ceased its self-destruction but Lightning knew better than to assume it was over so soon. She watched it with her weapon ready for a few moments before declaring to herself that her plan had worked.

Lightning had just placed her gunblade back into its case behind her when Prompto reminded her that she wasn't alone. "That…was awesome!" He cheered with his fists in the air. After a pause he added, "Wait… we don't have to go back that way, right?"

She turned around to answer but Ignis beat her to it. "No, from this point onward the cave splits into several paths towards the tomb."

"And we're done with the tomb," Gladiolus said. "What made you think that wouldn't make the whole place cave in?"

"There were wooden planks along the paths that supported the weak points. I figured taking them out would make the roof over those areas collapse while the rooms had enough concrete to stay standing," Lightning explained smoothly.

Noctis spoke up for the first time since her return. "That's was a really good idea." He subtly wore his admiration in his voice, which sounded much better than it did during the fight.

"Indeed," Ignis agreed. "And quite an and impressive task to handle on your own."

Lightning changed the subject, not feeling the same pride over her actions that they did. "And you two are okay?" she asked, nodding at Noctis and Prompto. It looked like Noctis was going to say something but Prompto interrupted, "Kind of. I, personally, will feel much better once we're outside."

"Same. Let's get out of here and report back to the Marshal," Gladiolus said.

They were all relieved at the sight of sunlight at the end of the tunnel, although it was considerably later in the day than they had thought. They switched their flashlights off and enjoyed the fresh air for the first time in far too long. Of course, it didn't take long for the respite to end. Noctis' phone rang in his pocket, dragging reality back to their peaceful moment. "Yeah?" He answered. "Just busy building my arsenal," he added a few seconds later. Cor must have had something important to say because Noctis didn't respond for a while. He hung up the phone without a goodbye.

"What's up?" Prompto said.

"People to see, bases to burn. Let's go see Monica at the outpost." Lightning assumed he meant Cor needed them to infiltrate a base to continue to the next tomb. Or something like that.

"Come to think of it, we did spy a large structure," Ignis informed, curious.

"Yeah, hard to miss an ominous thing like that."

Gladiolus crossed his arms. "Ain't gonna be easy takin' down a while stronghold." Lightning agreed. Facing an enemy in neutral territory was hard enough. Having to infiltrate Eden without the distraction of the Pulse "invasion" would have been much more difficult on her and her friends a year ago.

"Can we really do this?" Prompto said, clearly worried.

"The marshal believes we can, or he wouldn't have asked us." Ignis was right. Lightning just had a hard time accepting that because she wasn't sure what an entire base full of these magitechs would be like. PSICOM and Fal'cie? Sure. Endless robots and machines wasn't something she was as certain about. "But first thing's first."

"Right," Noctis said, "Let's head back to the outpost."

Monica gave them a few brief details about Cor's operation for the next day. At the moment the sun was low in the sky with the reddened clouds getting darker by the hour. They found something called a "haven," which would supposedly ward off daemons during the night. Lightning wouldn't buy that until she saw it, though.

Lightning was surprised at how much camping equipment they had on hand, even after Gladiolus admitted that he collected them. Their tent was still in a pile that they planned to set up after dinner. They had a fire started and were gathered around as Ignis dug around his cooking gear nearby.

Gladiolus and Ignis had been able to make some small talk with her over time, but she could practically feel the awkwardness coming from Prompto. Noctis was still quiet, which she didn't mind. "So, uh, Lightning?" Prompto called to her after looking up from his phone. She simply looked over at him in response. "You know, I was kinda wondering if maybe, like…" he extended the sentence out longer than she had patience for but waited for him to finish anyway. "I mean, are you sure you're okay with our, y'know…camping arrangements?"

"I've had worse, and it's not a problem…like I said an hour ago. And the hour before that," Lightning sarcastically replied. She caught Noctis giving his friend an annoyed look as she answered.

"Yeah, I know! I just feel bad if it's…I don't know…awkward?"

Gladiolus snorted in the chair next to her. "What, are you twelve?"

"No!"

"Then don't make it awkward." He inclined his head towards Noctis. "Same goes for you."

Noctis raised his hands in protest. "I didn't say anything!"

"Yeah, I know."

The prince glared at Gladiolus. Lightning turned back to Prompto and said, "Really, don't worry about it."

"Okay…sorry Lightning!" Prompto practically whimpered.

"Call me Light," she corrected.

His eyes widened at her like he had never heard of a nickname before. "Is-is that okay?" he stammered.

Gladiolus sighed. "You think she would have said it if she wasn't?"

"I wasn't talking to you, Big Guy!"

Noctis took his attention away from the other two, losing interest in their bickering. He then turned to face Ignis, who was behind him. "What's up, Specs?" he asked, apparently hearing something no one else did.

Lightning still wasn't used to such informal nicknames for the much more sophisticated member of the group. Noctis' question got the groups attention, prompting Ignis to say, "It appears we have fewer supplies than I remembered."

"How much fewer?" Gladiolus asked.

"Not much for a meal, sadly."

Prompto called from across the fire, "We have more than just bread though, right?" Lightning had guessed that they must have happened before.

"More than bread. Still, we will have to resupply and have a hearty breakfast in the morning," Ignis said as if the problem was solved.

Noctis looked to the far right at something in the distance. "There's a lake nearby. I could catch something while we still have some daylight." _Catch something?_ Lightning thought.

Ignis hummed in thought. "I appreciate the suggestion, Noct, but I don't believe it's worth risking staying out too late. We've had a long day and running into daemons now could be more dangerous than it already is."

"It's not like I'll be alone," Noctis said, looking back at the people around the campfire.

Gladiolus straightened in his chair. "Well, Iggy's gotta get to cooking whatever we have if we want to eat anything tonight, and I've gotta set up the tent before it gets dark." He nodded at Prompto. "You wanna go with him?"

Prompto apologetically answered, "Sorry, Noct, but I've had enough exploring for one day." Noctis shrugged and was going to let the conversation go without another thought until Prompto spoke again. "Unless Lightning…I mean, Light doesn't mind going?"

All eyes went to her. Prompto's were innocent, contrary to Ignis' and Gladiolus', whose were unsure. Lightning thought she sensed some panic and Noctis', much to her confusion. She said to Noctis, "It's fine with me if you're okay with it." Lightning had to confess that she was curious about what spending time with Noctis with be like after he had been pretty silent so far.

Noctis replied, "If you don't mind, I'm okay with it."

Gladiolus and Ignis shared hesitant glances at each other, still understandably cautious with leaving the prince with a stranger, even if that stranger had proven to be reliable. Gladiolus complied, "Alright, you guys go. Just make sure you're on your way back before it gets too dark."

Noctis stood. "Yeah, we won't be long." She followed him away from the haven, neither of them offering another word.

 **(4)** Within a short time they both sat at the edge of an old, yet still sturdy dock at the edge of a pond. On the way she had asked what he meant when he said they were going to catch something, she never would have guessed he liked fishing. He was constantly defying her expectations. He didn't look or act like she thought a prince would, he was surprisingly confident in battle, and he liked fishing despite being raised in the largest city in Eos. As they were sitting on the dock, Lightning's legs crossed and hung over the edge while Noctis sat with his crossed and his hands grasped the fishing pole in his lap, she found another one of her expectations proven wrong: he was just as awkward as Prompto.

To his credit, he was much better at handling it than his friend was. Most people probably wouldn't have noticed that he occasionally peek over at her like he wanted to say something, or how he was more fidgety than he was at the campfire. If she wasn't for her interest in learning about his hidden character she may not have noticed either. After almost an hour of this behavior, conducted in silence as the sky grew darker and the lake remained still, she had to call him out on it. "Is there something you want to say?"

Noctis jumped almost unnoticeably at her sudden question. "Not really, I guess."

"So you're just nervous then?" Noctis looked back at her with an even expression, but she could tell he was a little panicked over getting caught.

"It's not that either, it's just…" he drifted off. He sighed after thinking for a second, directing his gaze back to the lake, as if it was easier to talk to that instead of her. "I just feel bad."

Lightning's eyebrows raised, thinking this might have been why Gladiolus told him not to make things awkward earlier. "About the 'camping arrangements'?" she guessed while attempting to mask her annoyance at the subject.

"No! Not about that," He recovered quickly. Lightning was almost amused at how embarrassed he was getting. The calm and cool prince wasn't as much of this as he acted, or maybe wanted to be. "Just about…you being here in general."

Annoyance rose again when she thought he was suggesting that he didn't want her to be here. "What do you mean?" she said while trying not to snap at him.

Noctis sighed again, "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that you've been willing to help. We really need it right now after everything that's happened…" His mind went elsewhere momentarily before he continued, "But I feel bad that you've been dragged into it, Lightning." Lightning's mood softened, feeling his genuine apology. "It's got nothing to do with you, and it's all for me, and it looks like you didn't really get a choice so…I don't know, I'm sorry, I guess?"

Lightning almost smirked at that. Not that he felt guilty for her abrupt arrival, but because she knew that if she wasn't satisfied with whatever happened in the trench she would have left to find her own route by now. She rebelled against the Fal'cie that fueled her home, a group of four guys fighting against an empire was nothing she couldn't turn away from. "It's nice of you to consider that. But believe me when I say I wouldn't be here if I didn't feel like I should be involved."

Noctis' mind left the lake and returned to her. "You feel like you should?"

"I'm not sure why, but yeah, I do." And that was a truth that she hadn't realized until she vocalized it. "It's not because I just want to get it over with so I can leave. If that was all I wanted then I would find my own way out."

"You really think you could?" He asked, sounding like he didn't believe it was possible.

Lightning did give him a hint of a smirk at this point. "I've overcome worse odds before."

Noctis knew there was a story behind that and looked like he wanted to ask what it was but chose to keep it to himself. It didn't bother Lightning, she knew she would probably end up answering questions about where she came from eventually. "Well, if that's the case, then I have to say thanks again. I'm glad you're here with us." Lightning thought nothing of what he said, other than she was relieved that she was dealing with an appreciative person, but he felt like he said something wrong. "Well, no, I didn't mean it that way," he practically scolded himself.

Lightning actually chuckled at his regret. "Has Prompto rubbed off on you over time?" She was starting to see why they got along a lot better than they look like they would.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so…" Noctis agreed, but by the look on his face it was just an excuse. "I'm not exactly much of a conversationalist either, especially not right now." His eyes were directed at the lake once again.

She didn't get why he felt like that was a bad thing. If anything she was glad someone else shared her preference for silence. "I'm not either."

Noctis let out a small laugh. "At least _someone_ gets it."

He didn't seem as nervous anymore, but judging by how good he had been at hiding his nerves up until now she felt that he wasn't completely at ease. "But seriously, don't worry about it, Noctis."

He looked to her again, this time with surprise. She realized he called him by his name, which he may not have been used to outside of his close friends. "Did you prefer 'Your Highness' or something?" Because if he did, she had news for him. They were comrades and no status would make her act otherwise.

This time Lightning was surprised when he smiled at her. "No, I actually hate that." After their conversation it was something Lightning could have guessed about it. "But you can call me Noct."

Lightning replied, "You can call me Light."

He opened his mouth but they were both startled by the fishing pole flying forward without warning. Noctis caught it before it was out of reach and worked on reeling whatever had pulled the line in. Lightning watched him doing it, mostly because she didn't think he would be so good at it. In a short time he stood and dragged a fish above the surface of the water. And it was a big fish. "Just in time," he said enthusiastically while they both acknowledged the darkening sky.

"Time to head for camp then? Lightning asked, looking up at him from her seat.

"Yeah, Ignis will come after us if we don't go back soon." He lowered his free hand to her to help her stand and she took it, an action that she was anticipating from herself. She supposed that having the first personal talk with him made her more trusting of him faster than usual.

When they reached the haven they were met with shouts of praise and congratulations.

 **Music for chapter 2:**

 _ **What Lies Within,**_ **FFXV OST**

 _ **Veiled in Black,**_ **FFXV OST**

 _ **Defiers of Fate,**_ **FFXIII OST**

 _ **NOCTIS,**_ **FFXV OST**

 **HOOOOOOOOKAAAYYY…..This ended up being a lot longer than expected.**

 **Read this part if you care. If not, see ya later!**

 **So I've been waiting to continue with this because I wanted to see what the new DLCs would add to the plot. Then more dlc was announced and I got tired of waiting, and now it's cancelled so** **¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯**

 **On top of that I've been EXTREMELY busy for a while now just with life in general. I've been wanting to write this for so long and haven't had the time :(**

 **Anyway I feel like I need to preface this story before I continue any further.**

 **I'll start with…I really don't ship Noctis and Luna. At all. I'm sure many of you don't, which is why you're reading a Noct x someone else fic. Although I don't necessarily dislike Luna's character; I find her to be a strong and likeable character despite the fact that we know very little about her even after several expansions. It's just the "romance" between her and Noct that I don't buy.**

 **Luna's time in this story will probably be less than she has in FFXV's entire story since it's mostly told from Light's POV. She does have an impact on Noct, so this is NOT a NOCT/LUNA bashing fic or a fic that ignores this relationship entirely. So the love interest is still present between them, but it is not the main pairing here. Just to reassure anyone who has any doubts along the way.**

 **TLDR: 1) Been waiting for DLCs to come out, got tired of waiting and picking this back up now. Sorting through this game's script took forever too. 2) Not a LuNoct fic but the pairing is present according to the canon plot, Lightis is still main ship here. 3) If you see numbers in the fic, it means soundtrack is included for your leisure, songs listed at the end of each chap.**

 **See ya'll next chap!**


End file.
